Archive for December, 2015

I’ve been following the news from my Holiday Location and it is looking like Mayor Dennis Williams is being hung by his own “We’re Not Going to Let This Commission Take Credit for These Ideas” strategy in his effort to push back against having to live with the accountability (and potentially some consequences) that would come with a grant being provided by the Joint Finance Committee to help the City pay for foot patrols. You’ll recall that the Williams Administration’s response to the Wilmington Public Safety Strategies Commission report was to claim that they had already implemented most of the recommendations made — with the help of the VRN folks, not the Governor. There is wide skepticism about this claim that they’ve implemented most of those recommendations — especially from me — and the JFC looking to send the Police Foundation back into the WPD to check on progress is an excellent accountability measure. And if I am Mayor Dennis Williams with a re-election hanging in the balance because he is widely seen as utterly ineffective in managing the crime problem (in spite of campaign promises) — it would be Good News all the way around if one of the Commission’s consultants could say that progress is actually being made as promised.

Sam Nunberg, a former Trump political adviser to Donald Trump, told the Daily Beast that he doesn’t think the billionaire presidential candidate will win the GOP nomination.

Said Nunberg: “Based on public polling that I have seen and based on a downward trend, which includes a downward trend in New Hampshire, it includes Ted Cruz consolidating social conservatives in Iowa. I am concerned that Mr. Trump will not be able to get into the position to win South Carolina, which is his strongest state of support. He has to get there. Now that the race is tightening, it’s more difficult for him to get to South Carolina, which is the real firewall.”

I am an optimist. Which is unusual for a Progressive. Usually progressives, despite their forward looking politics, are most times pretty depressing and unhappy people. Look at Jason330 for an example of this. He has been pretty down of late. I think it is because we progressives never get what we want, in policy or candidates. And that is true, if you look at everything from a short term perspective. If you zoom back though from a distance, you will see that we are, as a people, as a country, always progressing. And while sometimes there is a conservative reaction to two steps forward that produces a one step backward, in the end, we are always going forward. So to do my part in instilling a sense of optimism in you, here are some victories progressives saw in 2015.

I spent three hours in a deep dialogue focus group with 29 Trump supporters. The phenomenon of “The Donald” is rooted in a psyche far deeper and more consequential than next November’s presidential election. His support denotes an abiding distrust in — and disrespect for — the governing elite. These individuals do not like being told by Washington or Wall Street what is best for them, do not like the direction America is headed in, and disdain President Barack Obama and his (perceived) circle of self-righteous, tone-deaf governing partisans.

Trump voters are not just angry — they want revenge.

Mr Trump has adroitly filled the vacuum of vitriol, establishing himself as the bold, brash, take-no-prisoners megaphone for the frustrated masses. They see him as the antidote to all that Mr Obama has made wrong with America. So to understand why millions love Mr Trump so much, you have to take a step back and listen to why they hate Mr Obama so much.

Here, my Trump voter focus group was particularly illuminating. Some still believe the president is not Christian. Many believe he does not love America. And just about all of them think he does not reflect the values the country was built upon. Indeed, within this growing faction, Mr Trump has licence to say just about anything. As we have seen repeatedly, the more outrageous the accusation, the more receptive the ear.

Mr. Luntz, that is all bullshit. Thinking the President is not a Christian or believing he does not love America or that the does not believe in the values the country was built on is all fucking code. They hate the President because he is black. They are racists, and are angry that a black man got to be President. And now they want revenge? LOL. What are they going to try to do? Bring back slavery so that the blacks know their place? Maybe. They support Trump because he wants to deport all Latinos and Muslims.

Joanna Cabry, the chairwoman of the Progressive Democrats of Sussex County had a Delavoice column in the News Journal the other day, talking about our never ending problem of gun violence. In the column, Joanne talks about assault weapon bans that were enacted in Australia after a mass shooting there. The first step we need to take is to tackle banning large capacity magazines. Because it is a solution that could at least alleviate the problem. If we can’t get the guns banned, maybe we can control the ammunition.

Senator Karen Peterson was the sponsor of the last bill to ban large capacity magazines (HB 58), and she is ready to do it again. But she needs our help. She needs us to counter the hate mail and calls legislators receive from the gun nuts.

According to a new Gallup poll, President Obama and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton have been named 2015’s “Most Admired” people. Not only did they win, but they won by a very wide margin to those who came in behind them.

Here is our update on the race for the General Assembly next year. The Democrats hold majorities in both houses, 25-16 in the House and 12-9 in the Senate. Only half of the Senate seats are up for election next year, for four year terms. All of the House seats are up for two year terms. The Republicans only need to net 2 seats in the Senate to win control, while they will need to win 5 seats in the House to win control.

The purpose of this chart inside is to show you which seats are competitive and which are not. The number besides each officeholder’s name is the percentage of the vote that that officeholder received in their last election. And based off that number, I rank the seats either Safe, Lean D/R, or Competitive. If the number is shaded in Dark Red or Dark Blue, the district is safe for the incumbent party. If the number is a lighter shade of blue or red, that district leans either Republican or Democratic, meaning the race could get competitive in the right conditions, but it is likely to go to the incumbent party. If the number and the whole district is shaded in yellow, then it is competitive.

My judgment on which district is competitive, at this stage, has a lot to do with how the incumbent performed in his or her prior election. I also factor into my consideration the nature of the district. For example, Trey Paradee’s and Andria Bennett’s districts will be competitive no matter how long they are in office, because of their district’s more conservative lean, and based on their percentage of the vote in the last election. I also include RD18 as competitive because it will be David Bentz’s first real general election, even though he will likely win a full two year term due to the district’s overwhelming Democratic registration edge in general elections. I include RD7, Bryon Short’s district, as competitive because it is an open seat with a history a decade ago of voting Republican. But that race will depend heavily on who will run to replace Short.

So what are you all hearing out there? Who is running? Who is retiring?